Belt-fastener



.(No Model.)

B. LYON; BELT FASTENER.

No. 406,106. 'Patented July 2, 1889 M VETERS mwuumn m. Wnhingwh. D.C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

BENJAMIN LYON, OF BRIDGEPORT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO GEORGES. SMITH, OF NORlVICI-I, CONNECTICUT.

' BELT-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 406,106, dated July 2,1889.

Application filed December 19, 1888. Serial No. 294,055. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN LYON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBelt-Joints; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in theconstruction of machinery-belting with a view to facilitating thejoining of the meeting edges ofsuch belting, so as to afford an endlesscircuit, and also with the end to provide an absolutely secure jointbetween said edges without the aid of any metallic or separate fasteningdevices what-ever.

Prior to my invention button-holes have been formed within the meetingedges of the belt, the inner ends of said button-holes terminating inenlarged eyelets, while the slits constituting thebutton-holes extendthrough the end edges of the belt, said button-holes being so cut thatT'-headed flaps were formed along the meeting edges of the belt, theflaps of one edge being opposite to the buttonholes in the other edge.

My invention consists in forming closed button-holes at the sides of oneof the ends of the be1t,whose meeting edges are provided with flaps andopen button-holes, as above set forth, said closed button-holes beingopposite to the lateral flaps of the other end of said belt.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view showing myimprovement, the ends of the belt being detached; Fig. 2, a similar Viewshowing the edges of the belt united in accordance with my improvement;Fig. 3, a bottom view of the united belt-see tions; Fig. 4, a Viewsimilar to Fig. 1, but illustrating the meeting edges of a belt providedwith open button-holes and flaps, but without my special end-lockingconstruction; and Fig. 5, a detail broken plan of the belt edges indetached position, showing a slightlymodified construction of theend-locking button-hole.

Similar letters denote like parts in the several figures.

Heretofore it has been essayed to unite the the meeting edges of beltsby a series of dovetail portions cut in said edges and interlocked 5 5and then secured by a binding wire or cord surrounding the interlockedportions above and below; but in regard to this'eonstruction the factremains that without this wire the edges would pull apart very easily,and that the wire or cord offers a most serious objecti0n,in that itforms and presents a protuberance on the under side of the belt. I wouldstate in this immediate connection that the securing of the meetingedges of machinery- 6 5 belts by lacing or by metal fasteners carrieswith it an objection which is obvious to and fully appreciated by everymechanic, and the feature which gives rise to this objection is theprotuberance formed by the lacing or metal fastener 0n the inner face ofthe belt. The reason of this obj ection is that every time suchprotuberance passes over the machinepulley a shock occurs, which,however slight it may be, causes what are called chatters in the work.Again, the use of metal as an element in securing the meeting edges ofbelts is of itself objectionable, since the belt is thereby stiffened atthe :joint, the result being that the metal will either break or cutthrough the belt. Therefore it is desirable to provide a means forsecuring the meeting edges of machinery-belts without the use of anymetal or other foreign substance whatever as auxiliary to such means,and the ac complishment of this desideratum by my invention will be bestunderstood by the following description.

A B represent short sections of machinery belting. 9o

1 are slits, which extend through the edges of said sections andterminate at the rear in enlarged eyelets 2. These slits are so locatedthat when the edges of the sections A B are evenlybutted together theslits of one section will alternate with those of the other, thusforming T-headed flaps 3 in each section, which are opposite to theslits. The belt-seetions thus fashioned are interlocked by simplybuttoning the said flaps alternately within their opposing slits, eachflap being forced within its opposite slit until the neck of said flapenters the eyelet atthe inner end of said slit. \Vhen the sections areinterlocked, as above set forth, it will be evident that any lengthwisestrain 011 the belt will cause the stock at the outer sides of the twolateral button-holes to yield,thereby spreading saidbutton-holes anddisengaging the end joints. It will be obvious that when said end jointshave been thus disengaged the disjointing of the remaining T-headedflaps and button holes will follow in rapid succession. If the endjoints are secured by any fastening device, the belt-sections cannotbecome separated, since there can be no spreading of the openbutton-holes.

In connection with the construction shown at Fig. i, there have beenused variousdevices for securing the end joints-sueh as tacks, staples,eyelets, &c.-but, as hereinbefore stated, the use of any metal orseparate fastenin g devices is highly objectionable, and my inventioncontemplates the securing of these end joints without the use of anyseparate fastening device. I have made provision against any suchdisadvantage resulting from the use of such devices by making a closedbuttonhole at the sides of one of the belt-sections and opposite to theflaps at the sides of the other belt-section. This button'hole may bemade in a variety of ways. In fact, there are so many different stylesand shapes of slots that would answer this purpose that it would seemuseless and superfluous to illustrate or de scribe them, since they areall colorable varia-' tions one of the other, the gist of my inventionin this instance resting in the broad idea of closed button holes orslots at the sides ofthe belt-section. I therefore have shown at Figs.1, 2, and 3 the kind of button hole or slot which I prefer to use inthis connection, and which is so located in the belt as to impair thestrength of the latter in the least degree and to facilitate theinterlocking of the opposite T-headed flaps. These closed button-holesare formed by slots 4, which terminate at their forward ends in enlargedeyelets 5, which latter are in alignment with the eyelets 2 in thatsection of the belt within which said button-holes are cut. It will beobserved that the slots 4 extend in a direction opposite to that of theslits 1, and that there are no T-headed iiaps at the ends of thebelt-section within which the closed but ton'holes are cut. I cut theslots 4 a little wider than the slits 1, in order to facilitate theintroduction of the opposite flaps. It will thus be seen that the use ofthe closed button-holes enables me to securely lock a belt jointed afterthe manner shown at Fig. 4, so that no end-thrust or rough usage of thebelt will cause the jointed sections thereof to separate.

Of course it is not necessary to out these closed button-holes both atthe sides of the same belt-section, since one may be cut at the side ofone section and the other at the opposite side of the other section,this being a matter dependent entirely upon the width of the belt.

At Fig. 5 I have shown my closed buttonhole provided with a lateralextension (5 at the base of the slot to afford a sort of gate, throughwhich the opposite T-headed flap may be readily introduced; but thisillustrates one of the many phases of my invention and merely enablesthe flap to be inserted without twisting. I have shown my improvement inconnection with a belt jointed by in terlocking flaps and openbutton-holes; but I do not wish to be circumscribed in the use of myinvention, since the same may be utilized as a lateral end joint inconnection with various devices and means for joining the meeting edgesof belts.

I prefer to use my improvement as shown, since a very superior means forjoining the meeting edges of belts is thereby afforded without the useof any metal or other foreign material whatever; also, I am enabled todis joint a belt without injuring it, and this cannot be done in theease of metal tack or staple fasteners, since the latter will tear thebelt and thereby render it necessary to make a new joint farther backfrom the edges of the belt. m

I claim- A machinery-belt having its meeting edges united by a series ofinterlocked T-headed flaps and open button-holes and secured by endjoints, which consist of T-headed flaps interlocked with opposite closedbu tton-hol es, as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

l-lENJAlilIN LYON. Witnesses:

S. S. \VILLIAMSON, F. \V. SMITH, Jr.

